Influence of Seed Priming with Plant Growth Regulators on Seed Germination and Seedling Quality in French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Aims: Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the influence of different concentrations of selected plant growth regulators i.e. Gibberellic Acid (GA3) and Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA) on seed quality parameters of French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Study Design: The seeds of ‘Mahima’, a local variety of French bean were treated with plant growth regulators for 3-hours duration with three replications in a completely randomized design. Place and Duration of Study: The investigation was carried out at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, Institute of Agricultural Science, University of Calcutta, during 2022-23. Methodology: The GA3 and IAA were applied through seed soaking in aqueous solutions of 25 ppm and 50 ppm concentrations and their combinations and standard germination test was carried out under controlled conditions. Observations were recorded at the end of the experimental period (9th day). Results: The treatment of GA3 at 50 ppm (T3) was found to be significantly superior in all the seed germination and seedling quality parameter assessed viz., germination (93.33 %), shoot length (24.77 cm), root length (14.37 cm), seedling length (39.13 cm), fresh weight (12.58 g), dry weight (1.23 g), vigour index-I (3652.31) and vigour index-II (114.83). The minimum parameters were recorded in the control (T1). However, in the case of germination and root length T3 and T2 (25 ppm GA3) were found to be statistically at par. The findings revealed that GA3 treatments generally promoted better germination and vigour status of seed compared to the control and IAA treatments. On the other hand, IAA treatments also exhibited significant enhancements compared to the control in most of the measured parameters. Combination of both the plant growth regulators also showed improved results over control. Conclusion: To sum up, this research underscores the preferential efficacy of GA3 over IAA in augmenting seed quality parameters during seed soaking treatments in French beans. Furthermore, the vigour enhancement also forecasts the better production of high-quality French beans in field conditions.